SBA Accepting Nominations for Small Business Innovation Research Awards

Published: December 28, 2011

2012 SBIR Tibbetts Awards and SBIR Hall of Fame Awards to be presented in April

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Small Business Administration is seeking nominations for awards honoring the critical economic role small businesses play in federally funded research and development through SBA’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs.

Three awards will be given, one for companies that have participated in the SBIR/STTR programs, one for individuals who advocate on behalf of the programs, and a third “Hall of Fame” award recognizing companies that have an extended period of extraordinary success of research, innovation, and product commercialization within the SBIR or STTR program.

The Tibbetts Awards are named after Roland Tibbetts, who was instrumental in developing SBIR, a highly competitive program to ensure small businesses get a chance to compete for federal research and development funding, along with the opportunities it provides to profit from commercialization of the technologies they develop.

The SBIR and STTR programs currently account for more than $2.5 billion per year in federal R&D funds and are coordinated by the SBA in cooperation with 11 other federal agencies with large external research and development budgets.

The awards are presented to companies and individuals that are beacons of promise and models of excellence in high technology. Typical of past award winners are a Maine company that created a self-propelled and eco-friendly “AquaPod” for sustainable aqua-culture. A previous Hall of Fame award winner that won numerous SBIR grants – a major west coast chip manufacturer – started with a staff of 35 and has expanded to a global work force of 17,500.

Selections for Tibbetts Awards are based on several factors, including the economic impact of the technological innovation, overall business achievement and demonstration of effective collaborations.

Nominations for these awards opened December 15, 2011 and will close 5 PM EST on January 31, 2012. Awards will be presented in Washington, DC, in April` 2012. To submit a nomination, please visit tibbetts.challenge.gov (Tibbetts Awards – companies and individuals) and sbirhof.challenge.gov (Hall of Fame Awards).